Jonsson School Welcomes 22 New Teaching and Research Faculty
The Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas welcomes 22 new faculty who have joined since the spring 2025 term. Tenure system faculty and instructional faculty bring expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques applied to a broad range of disciplines, from circuit design to robotics, from data science to systems engineering and from 3D-printed biomaterials to human-computer interaction.
This year’s roster includes Dr. Ron Rohrer, professor of materials science and engineering. Rohrer is a well-known inventor of the Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE), an open-source analog electronic circuit simulator, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and is the University’s first faculty member supported by a Governor’s University Research Initiative (GURI) award.
Additionally, Dr. Reza Moheimani, professor of systems engineering and James Von Ehr Distinguished Chair in Science and Technology, was recently named head of the Department of Systems Engineering. Moheimani joined the Jonsson School in 2015 and plans to continue building the department as it adds a new bachelor’s degree in systems engineering. He plans to expand the department’s degree offerings and attract more new faculty members.
New faculty are focused on student success through research collaboration, mentorship and a commitment to cultivating the next generation of problem solvers. Dr. Dan Burleson, a professor of instruction in mechanical engineering, will serve as the inaugural faculty director of the Jonsson School’s First Year Program.
“I love experiencing the new energy and expertise that our 22 new tenure system and instructional faculty members bring to the Jonsson School,” said Dr. Stephanie G. Adams, dean of the Jonsson School, professor of systems engineering and holder of the Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair. “We are also honored that Ron joined our faculty. He is a living legend whose generational contributions to integrated circuits will continue building our research thrust in semiconductor science and technology. Most importantly, our new faculty are committed to student success so that all students at all levels are supported toward their goals.”
New Faculty Members 2025
Dr. Amneh Akour
Dr. Amneh Akour
Assistant professor of instruction in electrical and computer engineering
Education: PhD in electrical engineering, The Ohio State University; MS in electrical engineering, Iowa State University; BS in electrical engineering, University of Jordan
Previous Positions: Analog and RF design engineer at Texas Instruments. Lecturer at the University of Sharjah, Qatar University and The University of Jordan
Research Interests: Circuits, RFIC, wireless networks, power electronics, converters and drivers, VLSI design
❝I aim to bridge the gap between academic institutions and industry. I want to have a positive impact on our students and watch their successes in the future.❞
Dr. Bogdan Antohe
Dr. Bogdan Antohe
Associate professor of instruction in bioengineering
Education: PhD in mechanical engineering, Southern Methodist University; diploma of engineering in mechanical engineering, University “Dunarea de Jos” of Galati, Romania
Previous Position: Senior research and development engineer at MicroFab Technologies Inc.
Research Interests: Heat transfer enhancement, microdispensing technologies and their applications in medical diagnostics and sensing
❝My goal is to help students grasp foundational concepts, understand when and how to apply them and cultivate practical skills relevant to their future careers.❞
Dr. Connor Armstrong
Dr. Connor Armstrong
Assistant professor of mechanical engineering
Education: PhD in mechanical engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology; MS in mechanical engineering, University of Maryland, College Park; BS in mechanical engineering, University of Maryland, College Park
Previous Position: Postdoctoral fellow at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, College of Materials Science and Engineering
Research Interests: AI/machine learning for material discovery, polymers, additive manufacturing, autonomous experimentation
❝My goal is to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop advanced materials and train future leaders in next-generation manufacturing.❞
Dr. Dan Burleson
Dr. Dan Burleson
Professor of instruction in mechanical engineering
Director of First Year Program
Education: PhD in environmental engineering, University of Houston; BS in civil engineering, University of Florida
Previous Position: Instructional associate professor at the University of Houston, Cullen College of Engineering
Teaching and Research Interests: Student engagement and belonging; peer mentorship and leadership development; first year student pathways and transitions
❝Together with faculty and students, I aim to create a welcoming and robust first-year experience that sparks curiosity and lasting success in Jonsson School students.❞
Dr. Parisa Darbari
Dr. Parisa Darbari
Assistant professor of instruction in computer science
Education: PhD in computer science and MS in mathematics, University of Central Florida; BS in mathematics, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Iran
Previous Position: Assistant professor of computer science and data science, Florida Polytechnic University
Research Interests: Quantum algorithms, algorithm design and analysis, computational complexity
Dr. Liang He
Dr. Liang He
Assistant professor of computer science
Education: PhD in computer science and engineering, University of Washington; MS in computational design, Carnegie Mellon University; MS in computer science and technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; BEng in software engineering, Beihang University
Previous Position: Assistant professor of interactive media, Purdue University
Research Interests: Digital fabrication, robotic and haptic interfaces, tangible user interfaces, accessibility and human-computer interaction (HCI)
❝I will work closely with students and colleagues to advance intelligent interactivity and contribute to the fast-growing HCI community at UT Dallas.❞
Dr. Soneya Hossain
Dr. Soneya Hossain
Assistant professor of computer science
Education: PhD and MS in computer science, University of Virginia; BSc in computer science and engineering, The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)
Previous Position: PhD student at University of Virginia
Research Interest: AI for software engineering
❝My goal is to advance trustworthy and reliable AI for software engineering by integrating program analysis with LLM-based automation of testing, debugging and repair, aiming to make software quality assurance systematic and dependable at scale.❞
Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim
Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim
Assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering
Education: PhD and MS in electrical and computer engineering from Duke University; MS and BS in electrical engineering from Ain Shams University, Egypt
Previous Positions: Research faculty member at Georgia Institute of Technology; postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley
Research Interests: Interactive AI-driven robots and prosthetic systems, cyber-physical system design and optimization, VLSI hardware acceleration, autonomous systems
“I plan to advance interdisciplinary engineering research on adaptive, energy-efficient embodied AI systems and mentor students to drive innovation in cognitive frameworks and sustainable hardware designs.”
Dr. Wafa Jaffal
Dr. Wafa Jaffal
Assistant professor of instruction in computer science
Education: PhD and MS in computer science, Southern Methodist University; BS in computer science, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem
Previous Position: Senior program manager at Microsoft
Research Interests: Software and solution architecture, software product design, AI products and distributed systems
❝After two decades shaping technology at companies, I’ve embraced teaching full-time to pass on hard-earned lessons, challenge young minds and ignite a builder’s spirit that will prepare students for lasting success.❞
Dr. Imtiaz Karim
Dr. Imtiaz Karim
Assistant professor of computer science
Education: PhD in computer science, Purdue University
Previous Position: Postdoctoral researcher, Purdue University
Research Interests: Network and system security, 5G/6G
❝I want to work with students to give them the amazing feeling of breaking into the field of systems and networks and doing innovative research that goes beyond academia!❞
Ramakrishna Koganti
Ramakrishna Koganti
Assistant professor of instruction in systems engineering
Education: MS in mechanical engineering, Concordia University, Montreal; MS in industrial technology, Eastern Michigan University
Previous Position: Systems engineer in several sectors including automotive, defense and healthcare
Research Interests: Systems engineering, automotive engineering, process optimization, product design, vehicle safety and analytics
❝I aim to inspire students to apply systems engineering principles to solve complex challenges, bridging academia with real-world innovation.❞
Dr. Minah Lee
Dr. Minah Lee
Assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering
Education: PhD in electrical and computer engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology; MS in electrical and computer engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology; BS in creative IT engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) Korea
Previous Position: Postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Institute of Technology
Research Interests: Edge computing, embedded systems, hardware software co-design
❝I strive to pioneer reliable, intelligent sensor platforms for efficient autonomous systems and to grow together with students and colleagues.❞
Dr. Jiannan Li
Dr. Jiannan Li
Assistant professor of mechanical engineering
Education: PhD and MS in electrical and computer engineering, University of California, Davis; BE in electrical engineering, Tsinghua University, China
Previous Position: Postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University
Research Interests: Bioprinting, biomaterials, tissue engineering, microfluidics, cancer study
❝I aim to bridge engineering with health sciences by developing advanced bioprinting technologies and applying them to diverse biomedical applications while advancing education at this intersection.❞
Dr. Yi Li
Dr. Yi Li
Assistant professor of bioengineering
Education: PhD in pharmaceutical and chemical sciences, University of the Pacific; MS in computer science, The University of Texas at Dallas; MS in molecular biology and BS in biochemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
Previous Position: Research scientist II, Department of Bioengineering, UT Dallas
Research Interests: The etiology and therapy of fusion oncoprotein-driven cancers using both experimental and computational bioengineering tools, including genome editing, RNA therapeutics, immunotherapy and machine learning
❝I enjoy training my students in both wet-lab and dry-lab techniques to prepare them for modern biomedical research and development.❞
Dr. Beiyu Lin
Dr. Beiyu Lin
Assistant professor of instruction in computer science
Education: PhD in computer science, Washington State University
Previous Position: Assistant professor
Research Interests: Generative AI, explainable AI and AI agents
❝I aim to teach AI and coding for everyone.❞
Dr. Barbara Maweu
Dr. Barbara Maweu
Assistant professor of instruction in computer science
Education: PhD, MS and BS in software engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas
Previous Positions: Machine learning and data science consultant at various healthcare research organizations
Research Interests: Software engineering, artificial intelligence application in medicine and healthcare datasets, interpretable and explainable AI models (XAI) and synthetic data generation and validation
❝My goal is to go beyond teaching my students software engineering concepts — it’s to equip them with the practical skills and collaborative mindset they will need to succeed as software engineers in the real world.❞
Dr. Ron Rohrer
Dr. Ron Rohrer
Research professor of materials science and engineering
Associate director of the Center for Harsh Environment Semiconductors and Systems (CHESS)
Education: PhD and MS in electrical engineering, University of California, Berkeley; BS in electrical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Previous Position: Professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University
Research Interests: Integrated circuit simulation and its applications
❝Among the many attractions for me to come to UT Dallas is the opportunity to work with the talented team at CHESS. The focus of our research is to greatly improve the efficiency of integrated circuit and system simulation and its applications.❞
Dr. Abusayeed Saifullah
Dr. Abusayeed Saifullah
Associate professor of computer science
Education: PhD in computer science from Washington University in St. Louis, BS in computer science from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)
Previous Position: Associate professor of computer science, Wayne State University
Research Interests: Internet of Things, real-time and embedded systems, wireless networks and cyber-physical systems
❝My goal is to establish a leading research group in IoT and CPS by integrating AI, next-generation wireless and embedded platforms, empowering students to innovate.❞
Dr. Jinwen Wang
Dr. Jinwen Wang
Assistant professor of computer science
Education: PhD in computer science, Washington University in St. Louis; MS in computer science, Tsinghua University, China; and BEng in computer science, Sichuan University, China
Previous Position: PhD student
Research Interests: Cyber-physical systems security and machine learning systems security
❝I aim to advance cybersecurity research, mentor future innovators and prepare Jonsson School students to tackle evolving global security challenges.❞
Dr. Matthew Wong
Dr. Matthew Wong
Assistant professor of materials science and engineering
Education: PhD in materials at the University of California, Santa Barbara; BS in chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Previous Position: Former staff scientist at University of California
Research Interests: Wide-bandgap semiconductor materials and devices
❝I plan to advance practical research with real-world impact while training students to innovate and contribute effectively to industry and academia.❞
Dr. Congyi Zhang
Dr. Congyi Zhang
Assistant professor of computer science
Education: PhD in computer science, Peking University, China; BS in mathematics, Fudan University, China
Previous Position: Postdoctoral research and teaching fellow at The University of British Columbia
Research Interests: Computer graphics, 3D content generation
❝The fusion of AI and graphics inspires multidisciplinary research. UT Dallas offers a platform to lead students into this exciting and promising direction.❞
Dr. Jie Zhou
Dr. Jie Zhou
Assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering
Education: PhD in electrical and computer engineering, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2023; MS in microelectronics and solid-state electronics, Peking University; BE in electronics and informatics, Southwest Jiaotong University
Previous Position: Research associate, University of Wisconsin-Madison; visiting scientist, Northwestern University
Research Areas: Semiconductor heterostructure devices, ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors, NIR/MIR optoelectronics, heterogeneous integration technologies
❝I aim to advance the next-generation semiconductor devices via emergent heterogeneous integration technologies while fostering an inclusive and collaborative research culture at UT Dallas.❞